


Heidellkein

by skipnaught



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Underage Relationship(s), shower fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-09 19:16:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4361069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skipnaught/pseuds/skipnaught
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ed often kept himself shielded from the world. Not the ‘in-your-face-who-you-callin’-short’ Ed, but more so the tender soul beneath that’s weathered to perfection and open and wholly loving.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heidellkein

**Author's Note:**

> Mindless shower fluff definitely sounds awesome at, say, two in the morning... but not so much afterward. xD As a result this is kinda messy and pretty poorly beta'd considering it's late (again), but fluff is good - heck, fluff is always good - so here: have some fluff. c; 
> 
> I mean, it's short and ugly, but it'll suffice for now - the AU's are coming. 8D

Edward Elric will always be interesting to Roy. 

In the moments that he’s upstairs shampooing his gorgeous hair – oh, that’s certainly the way to describe it: _gorgeous_ – Roy’s seated in the claw-footed armchair parallel to the fireplace and losing himself in the fact that the boy is at last finding himself at _home_. 

He’d never forget the image of the crippled, dismembered child in the wheelchair; hope long gone and vivacious spirit sealed behind eyes like dull brass. Of course – at that time – he hadn’t been fully exposed to the aforementioned vivacious spirit, but his reflections _now_ brought him to understanding that that hadn’t been Ed. That hadn’t been Ed at all, and that was just it – he’d achieved what he’d set out to do: nurse the boy back to state of balance–

“Mustang!”

–or at least to a state in which he had the capacity to listen to poorly-recieved radio stations in the shower.

_“Roy!”_

“Just a moment…”

Roy’s ankles screeched in protest as he pried himself from the comfort of his chair and started for the stairs, depositing his empty mug on the way. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet – he’d have to remind himself to call someone about that – on the way to the ensuite, and soon enough he was sliding the door open–

“Shut the door! You’ll let all the steam out!” Ed screeched.

“Doesn’t it make it hard to breathe in here?” Roy retorted.

“What’s a shower without steam, huh?”

Plans for a logical explanation gave way to quaint resignation as he leant heavily against the vanity, smiling. Ed was so beautiful – he’d always been beautiful – and his coming-of-age had certainly done him wonders, he couldn’t help but think. Alas, the screeching of a poorly-recorded acoustic guitar, coupled with the uneven and equally irritating cadence of static, tore him from his Edward-induced reverie.

“What was it you wanted, Ed?” He began again, yawning as thoughts of the time rose like bubbles in his poorly-functioning mind.

“Get me the conditioner.”

 _Well_ – such demanding language was only typical of Edward.

Roy casually passed the large bottle over the shower door before powerful steel fingers clamped around it and disappeared into the steam once again. Steam made for a metaphor that was both accurate and creative, he thought – Ed often kept himself shielded from the world. Not the ‘in-your-face-who-you-callin’-short’ Ed, but more so the tender soul beneath that’s weathered to perfection and open and wholly loving.

Roy knows it’s there; Ed’s a pleasant dream full of bloody daggers, which is ironic. Perhaps ironic was what he was going for, or perhaps that’s just one of the flawless little niches that makes Ed who he is.

Roy loves that.

“I trust you’ll be fine now?” He asked on the way out the door.

He was met with silence, which was unusual. Ed was an incredibly verbose boy most of the time, Roy knew, and surely he’d have some kind of–

“…wait.”

–sardonic remark?

“Yes?” Roy murmured softly in response, turning back.

The radio dropped out. He’s not whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, considering the circumstances.

“Can you stay?”

Ed’s almost eighteen, Roy began to think as his mind drifted from the perpetual static. He’d always been positively _gorgeous_ , but in the process of equivalency he’d also always been _too young_. They’d kissed once, but the golden-haired child – yes, he had been a _child_ and there was nothing to be said against that – had still been quite unsure of himself. Hell, when Roy was sixteen he wouldn’t have known whether committing such a deed was even morally _right_ or not.

_Edward Elric is seventeen years old, and still a beautiful mystery._

“Of course I can stay with you.” He replies, so gently that is could’ve been mistaken for a prayer; a prayer that the stunning fragility of the situation would not go to waste.

“Roy…” Ed mutters, voice low.

“Hmm?”

“I was thinkin’, maybe I should stay here from now on.”

Roy didn’t really know what to say. He’d known that it would come to this, and one day Ed would be eating from his cupboard and sleeping in his bed and _showering in his goddamn shower_ – 

It was going to be a permanent addition to his life. _Edward_ was at last going to be a permanent addition to his _life_.

“Oh, Edward. My arms are _always_ open to you–”

“Aw – _yeah, yeah_ , don’t get sappy on me, General. I just like your ham sandwiches.”

Roy laughed, deep in his chest. It was rich and colourful and _genuine_. He loved this boy, this boy who was blooming into a _man_.

“…and I like you, Roy.”

That time, he smiled. It hit him deeper than he would’ve liked it to, and the gesture is ever so slightly solemn.

“How much?” Roy prodded.

“Fuck – a lot.”

“Really?” He prodded _further_.

“Hell yeah.”

Roy just knew that Ed was grinning that grin that’s also a flawless little niche that makes him who he is. _Darling little thing_.

“Now get out, and shut the static up on the way.”

His smile brightened, and it was only as he silenced the radio that he realised his admiration had been totally involuntary from the moment it emerged. There had always been something there, something that had the power to bring him to tears or to real, real laughter. _God_ , Ed was just _beautiful_.

Falling in a rather uncoordinated fashion back onto the bed, Roy let out a sigh, because _hey_ – those ham sandwiches _were_ pretty brilliant.

Edward Elric, though, was even more so.


End file.
